NSU's MSN APRN Adult-Gerontology Acute Care NP track: clinicals, intensives and preceptor timing

Q: Do AGACNP students take the same core courses as FNP and PMHNP students?

Yes. All three tracks share the 12-credit core (NSG 5000 roles, NSG 5111 evidence, NSG 5220 health promotion, NSG 5130 policy, NSG 5512 diagnostic reasoning) and the three Ps: NSG 5531 pathophysiology, NSG 5510 pharmacology and NSG 5502 health assessment. The tracks split at the specialty courses, which for AGACNP start with NSG 5620 and its clinical.

Updated September 24, 2026 · Reviewed by the Nova Preceptor placement team

NSU's Adult-Gerontology Acute Care NP track is a 45-credit online MSN APRN built around four acute-care clinical courses, NSG 5629, NSG 5639, NSG 5659 and NSG 5669, which come to 855 hours in the 2026-27 catalog. It is the only MSN APRN track that still insists on Florida RN licensure and current ACLS certification, and all three of its intensives meet at Palm Beach. Each clinical needs an acute-care preceptor named to your clinical coordinator two semesters before it starts.

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Plan your acute-care clinicals

Share your start term and plan, and your placement advisor lines up an acute-care preceptor for each AGACNP clinical.

855clinical hours across the four AGACNP clinical courses (our sum of the catalog's per-course hours)

4 daysthe NSG 5620 intensive at Palm Beach, the longest on any MSN APRN track

Florida RNplus a current ACLS certificate, required of AGACNP applicants

MSN APRN: Acute Care NP (AGACNP). 855: clinical hours across the four AGACNP clinical courses (our sum of the catalog's per-course hours); 4 days: the NSG 5620 intensive at Palm Beach, the longest on any MSN APRN track; Florida RN: plus a current ACLS certificate, required of AGACNP applicants. — 855: clinical hours across the four AGACNP clinical courses (our sum of the catalog's per-course hours); 4 days: the NSG 5620 intensive at Palm Beach, the longest on any MSN APRN track; Florida RN: plus a current ACLS certificate, required of AGACNP applicants.

The AGACNP track in the 2026-27 catalog

The current graduate catalog lists the AGACNP as one of three concentrations in NSU's online MSN APRN, available full-time or flex. Credits total 45: the 12-credit core every APRN student takes, and 33 track credits that run from the three Ps through the acute-care capstone.

Length depends on the page you read. The AGACNP page says "in just six semesters," the master's programs index says seven, and the printed plans run six semesters full-time and eight flex. Your program director can settle it.

Students in older cohorts may know a different format. The 2025-26 catalog described the AGACNP in an "executive format (one weekend per month)" at the Palm Beach campus, with 51 credits and 765 clinical hours by our arithmetic. The 2026-27 changes page tracks what moved between the two catalogs.

Full-time and flex plans

Full-time students reach the first acute-care clinical in semester III. Flex students reach it in semester V, after spreading the core and the three Ps across four terms. From there, each plan runs one acute-care clinical per semester through the capstone.

AGACNP course plan by semester (NSU AGACNP page)
Courses	Titles	Full-time	Flex
`NSG 5000`, `NSG 5111`	Advanced Nurse Roles; Evidence and Practice	I	I
`NSG 5531`	Advanced Pathophysiology	I	II
`NSG 5512`, `NSG 5510`, `NSG 5502`	Diagnostic Reasoning; Advanced Pharmacology; Advanced Health Assessment (2-day intensive)	II	III
`NSG 5220`	Health Promotion and Disease Prevention	III	IV
`NSG 5130`	Healthcare Policy and Leadership	IV	IV
`NSG 5620` and `NSG 5629`	Adult-Gerontology Acute Care I (4-day intensive) and clinical	III	V
`NSG 5630` and `NSG 5639`	Adult-Gerontology Acute Care II and clinical	IV	VI
`NSG 5650` and `NSG 5659`	Adult-Gerontology Acute Care III (2-day intensive) and clinical	V	VII
`NSG 5660` and `NSG 5669`	Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Capstone and clinical	VI	VIII

One quirk on NSU's website: the AGACNP flex plan leaves NSG 5659 without the star that marks a clinical course, yet the catalog lists it at 190 hours like the other two. Plan it as a clinical that needs a preceptor.

Florida RN license and ACLS

Both NSU's newest graduate catalog and its admissions page require an unrestricted Florida RN license of AGACNP applicants, while family and psychiatric applicants may bring one from any state. The same sources ask AGACNP applicants for a current Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) certificate.

Keep both valid to the last day of NSG 5669. The license has to stay current in the jurisdiction of your practicum for the whole program, and the handbook warns that clinical sites may add basic life support, advanced life support or pediatric advanced life support. The BLS, ACLS and PALS page covers renewals.

The Florida license also lines up with state law. Florida's rule, FAC 64B9-4.001(13), wants any student at a Florida site to hold RN licensure under chapter 464 of the Florida Statutes, with a preceptor who holds a Florida APRN, MD, DO or dental license; Florida's preceptor rule has the detail.

The rest of the admission list matches the other tracks: a year of current direct patient care, 12 or 24 months of independent practice depending on GPA, a CV and an interview with the program director. A 225-mile residence rule appears in the 2025-26 handbook and catalog but not in the 2026-27 catalog, so confirm whether it binds your cohort.

Four acute-care clinicals, 855 hours

At 95 practicum hours per credit hour, each two-credit clinical carries 190 hours and the three-credit capstone carries 285. NSU prints the per-course figures; the 855 total is our addition.

AGACNP clinical courses (2026-27 ACON graduate catalog)
Course	Title	Paired with	Hours
`NSG 5629`	Adult-Gerontology Acute Care I Clinical	`NSG 5620`	190
`NSG 5639`	Adult-Gerontology Acute Care II Clinical	`NSG 5630`	190
`NSG 5659`	Adult-Gerontology Acute Care III Clinical	`NSG 5650`	190
`NSG 5669`	Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Capstone Clinical	`NSG 5660`	285
Total			855 (our sum)

The older 2025-26 plan used 170 hours for each of the first three and 255 for the capstone. For what each course asks of a site and preceptor, read the AGACNP clinical courses guide; the weight of the final term is covered in NSU's capstone clinicals.

Three intensives, all at Palm Beach

The FNP can use Tampa Bay for two of its intensives; every AGACNP intensive meets at the Palm Beach campus. NSU notes the intensive schedule may shift and publishes no dates.

NSG 5502 Advanced Health Assessment, 2 days: full-time semester II (flex III), ahead of every clinical.
NSG 5620 Adult-Gerontology Acute Care I, 4 days: held in the same semester your first clinical, NSG 5629, gets underway.
NSG 5650 Adult-Gerontology Acute Care III, 2 days: alongside NSG 5659.

Four days away during the first clinical semester is worth raising with your preceptor before you agree on a weekly schedule, since hours may not be crammed into the end of the term to cover the gap. Students living outside South Florida should budget the trips early; NSU's on-campus intensives covers each campus.

Hospital settings and what they ask of students

NSU does not publish a list of units that count for each AGACNP clinical. The handbook's test is that the clinical coordinator confirms the site gives the appropriate clinical experience, and the specifics live in the graduate clinical guide and your course in Canvas. Acute-care NP clinicals typically happen where adults are acutely or critically ill: inpatient medicine and hospitalist services, intensive care units, emergency departments and inpatient consult teams.

Hospitals tend to ask more of a student before day one. The handbook says practicum sites may require criminal background checks, life support cards, immunizations and health forms, and NSU orders a level 2 fingerprint check through FDLE and VECHS when a facility calls for one, at a fee listed in the handbook. Facilities may run their own background checks as well, and you may have to upload immunization proof to more than one portal, NSU's and the facility's. The handbook cancels the placement if any facility item is still open on your first scheduled day; see clinical site requirements.

In Florida, acute-care NPs generally practice under a physician protocol, because autonomous registration under s. 464.0123 covers primary care only. Your preceptor may be a protocol APRN or a physician; both fit Florida's rule, and NSU's own preceptor criteria come to you through your coordinator.

Timing each acute-care preceptor

NSU's handbook gives you two paths for every clinical course. Report your preceptor and site to the clinical coordinator a full two semesters ahead of the course, and the coordinator verifies both. Name no one, and the coordinator assigns a site anywhere within 150 miles of the ZIP code where you live, a placement NSU calls not negotiable.

AGACNP notice points, counted two semesters back (confirm dates with your clinical coordinator)
Clinical course	Full-time semester	Full-time notice by start of	Flex semester	Flex notice by start of
`NSG 5629`	III	I	V	III
`NSG 5639`	IV	II	VI	IV
`NSG 5659`	V	III	VII	V
`NSG 5669`	VI	IV	VIII	VI

Clinical hours start with the paired didactic course and continue every week of the term. Before the first hour, your paperwork must be in and you must have visited the site and met the preceptor. The two-semester deadline page converts semester counts into calendar terms.

Full-time AGACNP students reach the NSG 5629 notice point at about the start of semester I. Start the acute-care search before classes begin.

Why AGACNP students choose us

Acute-care placements reward early, thorough work, and that is how we run them. Your placement advisor looks for acute-care preceptors at hospitals and services near your home for all four clinicals, confirms each one can offer weekly time for the whole term, and times every request ahead of NSU's two-semester notice.

We prepare the package your clinical coordinator reviews: the preceptor's license, credentials and service, plus the site details that show the acute-care fit. We track the facility's onboarding alongside your CastleBranch items and ACLS dates, and if a preceptor leaves, we find another. The coordinator holds the approval on each preceptor and site; we see that the file they open is whole, accurate and built to NSU's rules from the start. The form below gets things moving.

Questions NSU students ask

Can I apply to NSU's AGACNP with a multistate compact license from another state?

NSU's wording asks AGACNP applicants for a Florida RN license and is silent on whether a multistate license from a different compact state counts. Florida has taken part in the Nurse Licensure Compact since January 19, 2018, but Florida's preceptor rule refers to an RN licensed under chapter 464 and does not settle the question either. Ask NSU admissions in writing before you apply.

Is NSU's AGACNP still one weekend a month?

That was the older design. The 2025-26 catalog described an executive format of one weekend per month at Palm Beach. The 2026-27 catalog and the current AGACNP page describe online coursework with three intensives: two days for NSG 5502, four for NSG 5620 and two for NSG 5650, all at Palm Beach. If you started under the older plan, your program director can confirm which applies.

Can a physician be my AGACNP preceptor?

Under Florida's rule, the preceptor at a Florida site can be an APRN, a medical or osteopathic physician, or a dentist, so long as the Florida license is current. NSU's own preceptor standards are written into the graduate clinical guide, a document NSU keeps internal, and the clinical coordinator checks each preceptor against them. If you are weighing a hospitalist or intensivist physician, raise it with your coordinator when you give notice.

Do AGACNP students take the same core courses as FNP and PMHNP students?

Yes. All three tracks share the 12-credit core (NSG 5000 roles, NSG 5111 evidence, NSG 5220 health promotion, NSG 5130 policy, NSG 5512 diagnostic reasoning) and the three Ps: NSG 5531 pathophysiology, NSG 5510 pharmacology and NSG 5502 health assessment. The tracks split at the specialty courses, which for AGACNP start with NSG 5620 and its clinical.

Is there an AGACNP option for nurses who already have an MSN?

Yes, NSU offers a postgraduate AGACNP certificate. Its clinical hours conflict across sources, 765 or 735 depending on whether the capstone is 255 or 225 hours, and it asks for a Florida RN license, ACLS and a home no more than 225 miles from the program campus. The move from hybrid to online is dated summer 2027 in the catalog and the 2027-28 year on the web pages.

AGACNPAGACNP postgraduate certificateNSU's AGACNP postgraduate certificate: NSG 5620 to NSG 5660, 765 or 735 clinical hours, the 855-hour summer plan, Florida RN, ACLS and acute-care sites.DNPBSN to DNP: AGACNP concentrationNSU's BSN to DNP, AGACNP concentration: 73 credits, the NSG 5620 to NSG 5669 acute-care block, Florida RN, ACLS, Palm Beach intensives and 600 project hours.150 milesThe 150-mile placement ruleWhat happens when an NSU APRN student names no preceptor: a coordinator placement within 150 miles of your home ZIP code that NSU calls "not negotiable."NSU systemBackground checksNSU nursing background checks: the level 1 check at acceptance, level 2 FDLE and VECHS fingerprinting when a clinical site asks, and the 10-day arrest rule.Intensive campusPalm Beach CountyPalm Beach County for NSU NP students: Tenet's preceptor agreement, Boca Raton Regional, Jupiter Medical Center, health centers, the VA and the 150-mile radius.Florida lawProtocol vs autonomous APRNsFlorida APRNs work under a physician protocol or, in primary care only, autonomously under s. 464.0123. What it means for NSU FNP, AGACNP and PMHNP students.

Last checked 2026-09-24

We check these pages against NSU's own handbook, catalog and program pages. The graduate clinical guide, your course in Canvas, your clinical coordinator and your program director have the final word.

NSU lets you name your own preceptor. We make sure you have one, close to home and in time.

Tell us your NSU program, your home ZIP area and when your next clinical course starts. We find preceptors who fit the course and have everything ready for your clinical coordinator well before the two-semester notice.

Preceptors matched to the course: primary care for FNP, acute care for AGACNP, psychiatric care for PMHNP, a practice site for DNP project hours
Named early enough for NSU's two-semester notice, with license, credentials and site details ready for the coordinator
Close to your home ZIP code, with clinic days we plan around your work schedule

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